There are known belt cleaners that employ a scraper blade which is molded directly onto the pole, which eliminates gaps between the blade and the pole. However this method has many disadvantages. The blade is not replaceable, so once it wears out the entire blade and pole must be replaced. Also, these belt cleaners are not easily tailored to the width of the conveyor and the belt, because the blade is molded to a specific width and cannot be cut shorter without damaging the pole.
Prior belt cleaner systems have used round poles, which by nature do not have any horizontal surfaces for debris to collect.
Prior belt cleaner systems for snap-fit conveyor belt cleaner blades have used a round pole which has a key bar projecting upwardly therefrom and a corresponding key-way in the blade body to prevent rotation of the blade relative to the pole. The key bar is a separate piece which requires a mating groove to be machined into the pole. The key bar is then permanently glued or welded in place and creates another interface which can harbor bacteria and is difficult to clean.
Other conveyor belt cleaners in the market use pins to attach the blade to the pole.
Competitive products have used secondary collars or stop features to prevent migration of the blade relative to the pole, which can be difficult to clean or could potentially contain hardware which could become loose and end up in the product.